Quora answered a question that is exceedingly difficult to answer. A fascinating, heartbreaking and exceedingly difficult read. And one of the strengths of Quora. I extend my condolences. It is very much worth a read.
Category: Society
Care: Or the fallacies of Neo-Liberalism
This article probably won’t be too long. There is nothing I can say which is better thought out than the following article in last weeks Guardian Deborah Orr speaks about Care. There are problems with both the left and the right, certainly in terms of thinking of their views as moral. Deborah Orr points out… Continue reading Care: Or the fallacies of Neo-Liberalism
Why Education Ministers should be educated
Michael Gove is reported as arguing that: Gove said there had been previous attempts to make science relevant, by linking it to contemporary concerns such as climate change or food scares. But he said: “What [students] need is a rooting in the basic scientific principles, Newton’s laws of thermodynamics and Boyle’s law.” […] We are… Continue reading Why Education Ministers should be educated
Training students for the 21st Century
Education is a hugely politically loaded issue. I want to write today briefly about education. I’ve two years of experience as a tutor and Teaching Assistant in a Northern Ireland Grammar School, and continue to tutor a range of ages while I undergo my Masters studies in Mathematics. I definitely will focus on STEM subjects,… Continue reading Training students for the 21st Century
Is Democracy the right answer?
It is as I think Orwell observed worrying if we see democracy as ‘the’ answer. how voters decide. Indeed, voters constantly complain that initiatives are too complicated. Two out of three told the PPIC poll in December that the wording of the initiatives was confusing. But over-complex language is only one worry in a process… Continue reading Is Democracy the right answer?
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense
The above slogan came to my attention once again from the excellent Cosma Shalizi comments on Krugmans book ‘Pop Internationalism’. In the book review The great Computer Scientist has a slogan which Shalizi extends from merely arithmetic to algebra. This short essay will be looking at this issue. It is often said by politicians for… Continue reading He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense
The Irish Financial Crisis
Firstly, I’m Irish, and subsequently writing about this is difficult. My late Grandfather, used to warn me that the Irish debt problem was a serious one. He passed away before all this crisis happened but he would probably feel a smug satisfaction ‘I told you so’. A recent Vanity Fair piece by Michael Lewis looks… Continue reading The Irish Financial Crisis
Libraries and the need to protect them
Libraries are something dear to my heart, like schools, hospitals, a government run post service and a list of other things that I can’t think of. While I believe that markets are necessary for wealth, I don’t believe that these things should interfere in libraries, or anything for the ‘public good’. I’m inspired by a… Continue reading Libraries and the need to protect them